CryptoPunks. They were the first proper NFT collection on the blockchain. Created by Larva Labs in 2017, they were a collection of 10,000 unique, 24x24 pixelated avatars. People could claim punks for free at launch; however, they have since exploded in value. The most expensive sale happened in February of 2022, when a Cryptopunk sold for a record amount of $23.7 Million.
CryptoPunks have consistently sat in the daily top 10 most-traded collections by volume (Currently sitting at #1), with a minimum asking price of 65 Ethereum or roughly $82,000. It has also led them to Auction houses, the likes of Sotheby's and Christie's, where they've sold for millions of dollars.
CryptoPunks, for the longest time, had absolutely no utility. They were very literally just images. Unlike other popular NFT projects, they granted you absolutely no perks. Most people bought them "for the art" or as an investment, as it was one of the first NFT collections and held both historical and symbolic value.
In March 2022, via a press release, Yuga Labs announced that they were acquiring Crypto Punks and Meebits from Larva Labs for an undisclosed amount. Yuga Labs is the creative force behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, arguably one of the most, if not the most, influential NFT collections in the world.
Known for creating value around their NFTs and their community-first approach, it was almost certain that Yuga Labs had plans for Punks and Meebits. The only question was, what? Yuga has created more monetary and cultural value for its holders than any other NFT collection. So how were they going to create value for Punks?
Their announcement message about the acquisition made a couple of things very clear. They announced plans to hand over commercial rights of the artwork to holders similar to their other collections (BAYC, MAYC, and BAKC). This would allow holders of Crypto Punks and Meebits full autonomy to use their NFTs and their likeness in any way they would like on products or as brands of their own.
They also made it very clear they were not going to make CryptoPunks anything like Bored Apes and the club and storytelling structure they had created around that franchise. They, however, wanted to build utility around the IP and for holders. They were certain they wanted to preserve the ethos of Punks in whatever they decided to do with the IP while also making Punks a part of the broader vision and plans they were executing at Yuga.
This was something they immediately cemented just days after this announcement when Yuga announced their ambitious plans to deliver a Metaverse they called "Otherside". In their trailer, they teased that Crypto Punks would be playable and natively compatible at launch. It was the first proper utility that punks would have.
But while this was exciting, Yuga's vision for what Punks are seems to be a lot bolder.
In November 2022, weeks before the crypto world was set to descend in Miami for Art Basel, they announced their first initiative for punks since taking it over, the Punks Legacy Project. A project their team will undertake that, as they put it, "will oversee the donation and installation of several CryptoPunks to leading contemporary art museums around the globe, providing these museums with resources regarding security, NFT display best practices, and Web3 education". The first donation was to the ICA Miami, which would begin exhibiting the Punk on the 2nd of December, right in time for Art Basel.
Yuga donating punks to museums is an interesting approach. Putting it in a gallery next to a Keith Haring or an Andy Warhol is a great way to cement punks and their legacy in the art world.
The first way for people to appreciate art is for them to see it. And most of all, to see it in a museum, where they can interact with it. As Yuga put it, "CryptoPunks are contemporary art. They belong in museums".
Putting it in a Museum is groundbreaking for its legitimacy and also for its exposure. Art is only art when people interact with it. And putting Punks in a museum is undoubtedly one of the most intelligent strategies to get more people toinbuild notoriety and awareness.
But what it also seems to expose is what Yuga's broader vision for CryptoPunks might be in their ecosystem. The founders and the community have often referred to Bored Apes as a streetwear brand. The founders, in an interview on the Fullsend Podcast, called it the "Supreme of Web 3". So if Bored Apes are the Supreme, then it certainly seems like the direction of CryptoPunks is more the high fashion couture brand route. This became even more clear when they, in partnership with Tiffanys, offered Punk holders made-to-order bejeweled necklaces of their crypto punks.
For Punk holders, this is a big deal because this is the first part of a plan that could effectively make their NFTs fine art. It makes the IP they own intrinsically more valuable for the simple reason that very few things appreciate in value the way fine art does. By turning CryptoPunks into contemporary art, Yuga is creating utility and value for its holders, and if you think about it, that was their goal from the very start.
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